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Pay close attention to these surprising statements by Sweden's Prime Minister, Social Democratic
leader Magdalena Andersson:
(Swedish PM says integration of immigrants has failed, fueled gang crime – Reuters)
(Integration has been too poor at the same time as we have had a large immigration.
Society has been too weak, resources for the police and social services have been too weak.
[...] Segregation has been allowed to go so far that we have parallel societies in Sweden.
We live in the same country but in completely different realities."
– Magdalena Andersson, Swedish PM)
Let's see, here we have a social democratic leader who is also in power making statements
like this about immigration – that is definitely not common at all.
Something very serious must be going on in Sweden, don't you think?
What exactly is the Prime Minister referring to, and why has the immigration issue come
to the forefront in one of the most open countries in the world?
What exactly is going on in Sweden?
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(PANIC FIGURES)
Pay close attention to the following figures because I am sure that more than one or two
of you are going to be very surprised:
In 2021, 335 shootings were recorded in Sweden resulting in 47 fatalities.
Yes, it’s true, if you are watching us from the United States or Latin America, these
numbers may seem like a joke, almost a happy utopia.
Even if we take into account the differences in population, the data is infinitely better
than what the United States or practically any Latin American country registers every
year.
For example, in 2020 in the United States alone, homicides and shootings took the lives
of more than 23,000 people.
We are talking about completely different scenarios.
By European standards, however, the Swedish statistics are striking.
Sweden is the country in Europe where firearms-related crime is growing the most and has one of the
highest fatality rates.
For example, while Sweden has an average of 4 deaths per million inhabitants per year
due to firearms, the European average is 1.6.
What’s more, unlike the rest of Europe, the trend in Sweden is increasing.
This is an unusual fact.
All this means, for example, that the probability of a man between the ages of 15 and 29 being
shot is 10 times higher in Sweden than it is in Germany.
(Sweden Tops Europe In Fatal Shootings, Report Shows.
In less than a decade Sweden has overtaken Italy and Eastern European countries to have
the highest number of fatal shootings in Europe.)
But that is not all.
In 2019, 260 crimes involving explosives were recorded across Sweden, an increase of 60%
over the previous year.
We are talking about bombs and explosive devices that are often detonated in public spaces,
mostly outside apartment developments and in small businesses.
Surprised?
If we add to this the fact that Sweden has the highest rates of rape and sexual violence
in Europe and that hate crimes against minorities, such as LGBT people, are also on the rise,
then the picture becomes very clear.
Obviously, there is a problem in Sweden.
Surprisingly, however, if we look at all crimes, Sweden's crime rate is not particularly high,
it is within the European average.
In other words, the Nordic country has a particular problem with weapons, explosives, sexual violence
and attacks on minorities.
Or, in other words.
In the European context, Sweden has a fundamental problem with violent and sexual crimes.
And this is precisely why the Swedes are by far the Europeans most concerned about crime.
For them it is already the number one concern.
And this also helps to explain the words of the Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, which
we saw at the beginning of this video.
Now, at this point, the question I'm sure many of you are wondering is:
What the hell is going on in Sweden?
What on earth could explain such a wave of violence?
Well, most of the shootings and explosions in Sweden involve organized crime gangs.
And you see, in this Nordic country, 8 out of 10 shootings are related to criminal gangs.
The problem that is causing most concern is that more than half, 53% of those sentenced
to prison were born abroad.
This percentage rises to almost 90% of those suspected of involvement in shootings if we
take into account both foreign-born and second-generation offenders.
VisualPolitik viewers, obviously we do not intend to point the finger at anyone because
of their origin in this video.
On the contrary.
You know that on VisualPolitik we are all for things like freedom of movement and that
we think that migratory movements are a powerful engine of prosperity...
As long as things are handled correctly, of course.
That's why with this video we want to put forward some factors that can hinder effective
integration.
And that is how the situation in Sweden can be radically different from countries like
Australia, New Zealand or even the United States.
Remember the headline at the beginning of the video?
(Swedish PM says integration of immigrants has failed, fueled gang crime – Reuters)
Well...
Exactly that.
So in order to understand this whole situation we have to ask ourselves a few questions:
Is the rise in violent crime in Sweden really only the fault of immigrants?
What responsibility do public authorities, that is politicians, carry here?
Where – if at all – has Sweden failed?
Well, let's take a look.
(A SINGLE CULPRIT?)
VisualPolitik fans, in Sweden, there is one key component that links immigration and crime:
social exclusion.
But, wait a minute, before some of you cry out loud, no, we are not going to tell you
the usual story that crime is justified exclusively by poverty and that, therefore the solution
is to give much more aid and subsidies of all kinds.
This is a very complex issue, in which we are able to find many contributing factors
and in which poverty plays a very important role.
But if there is a surplus of anything in Sweden, it is precisely public aid and subsidies.
In fact, although it may seem contradictory, this excess of public funds may help explain
much of the tsunami of exclusion and crime that the Scandinavian country has experienced.
At least by European standards.
And it’s not just us saying this.
This is something that even the Social Democrat Prime Minister seems to be starting to be
very clear about.
The fact is that, in Sweden, the immigrant population receives enormous amounts of public
aid, particularly if they are asylum seekers.
But if there is one benefit that stands out above the rest, it is the child allowance,
a benefit that is not exclusive to immigrants.
In 1982, when Sweden began to experience very low birth rates, an allowance was created
to provide families with a generous income for having children.
And no, we are not talking about a one-off baby check, we are talking about an allowance
that every person legally resident in Sweden receives from the month after birth until
the child reaches 16 years of age.
And, under certain circumstances, this allowance can even be extended until the child is 20
years old.
So what does the Swedish State offer for each child?
Well, basically a subsidy of at least 1,250 kronor, which is about 120 euros or $126 a
month.
And do you know what?
The immigrant population has many more children on average, so this subsidy is particularly
in their favor,
But, in addition, there are also many other provisions that especially favor them.
Take, for example, rental subsidies for large families or advantages in accessing public
housing – particularly when prices are skyrocketing and there is no other way to access housing
– or direct subsidies in the case of asylum seekers, among many other programs.
But the question many of you may be wondering is, let's see, [host]; what's wrong with all
this?
What does it have to do with the problem we are addressing in this video?
Well, basically all these aid programs have direct consequences on the labor market.
Let's say that a whole lot more people end up using public assistance as more than a
transitory resource.
And, once again, this is not only coming from us.
The employment data, for example, also points to this.
And, what’s more, that data says it clearly.
The worst part is borne by women, as many of these subsidies discourage their incorporation
into the labor market and their social integration, which can already be complicated in some cultures.
For example, according to Eurostat in Sweden, the employment rate of foreign-born women
is almost 20 points lower than the rate of women born in the country.
On the other hand, these subsidies also foster a false economic stability that causes many
beneficiaries not to seek regular jobs precisely so as not to lose these subsidies.
This is fuel for the creation of informal networks that end up favoring the creation
and development of criminal groups and gangs.
In the United States and New Zealand, immigrants have higher employment rates than the native-born
population.
In the case of Australia and Canada the difference in favor of native-born population is only
3.4 and 1.7 percentage points respectively.
In Sweden, however, the difference is almost 15 points.
In other words, we are talking about a completely different situation.
And that's not all.
By reducing employment rates and discouraging many immigrants from seeking formal full-time
jobs, it also reduces their degree of integration and reduces their contact with the rest of
society.
Add to this public housing policies and the result is a perfect cocktail for the gestation
of ghettos, an environment particularly conducive to the development of gangs.
And so, in Stockholm alone, there are an estimated 60 organized crime gangs operating throughout
the city.
The question is, is there a solution to all this, what are the consequences of these policies,
and what exactly does social democratic Sweden hope to do now?
Well, as so often happens, bad policies not only lead to bad results, they also sometimes
lead to bad answers.
Or at least insufficient responses.
(FROM WHITE TO BLACK WITH NO CLEAR DIRECTION)
Suddenly Sweden is changing, and it is changing at an accelerated pace even if the government
is still in the hands of social democratic politicians.
Is it going in the right direction?
Well, that's another debate.
The fact is that, while until recently, Sweden was an example of a country with open doors,
these days the social and political reaction could end up feeding antagonistic and hostile
movements towards this reality...
For example, while in 2015, Sweden became the country that took in the most Syrian refugees
by far, relative to its population, now, just seven years later, the headlines you can find
on Google if you search for "immigration" and "Sweden" are quite different.
(Even Sweden Doesn't Want Migrants Anymore – Foreign Policy)
Now, the Social Democrat government itself is going to implement a new immigration law
supposedly to tackle the cause of all the problems:
(New Swedish migration law makes permanent residency harder for refugees and visitors
– Euronews)
With the new law, people arriving from abroad will no longer have such an easy time arriving
or accessing public aid.
Nor will it be possible to get a work permit without a contract.
In addition, a minimum of three years living in Sweden will be required for permanent residence.
On top of that, the justification of a minimum income of 810 euros per month will be required.
The law itself does not say almost anything different from other European countries.
But the point is that, in this case, the ultimate goal is that far fewer immigrants arrive.
Of course that is not the problem.
Sweden has far fewer immigrants than countries like Australia, New Zealand or Canada.
But there you have it.
This is the response that the social democratic government of Magdalena Andersson wants to
give.
This is a 180-degree turn in the country's politics.
However, what will not change for the moment is the bulky regime of aid and subsidies.
Nor the housing policies to avoid the formation of ghettos.
Quite the contrary.
The social democratic government of Magdalena Andersson wants to make even more money available
without paying attention to relevant issues such as the level of employment or entrepreneurship
of the foreign population.
Two factors that, along with education, are key to promoting integration.
Make no mistake, the problem is not the number of immigrants in Sweden, the problem lies
in the inefficient and inadequate system of benefits and subsidies of all kinds.
In the end, such changes run the risk of criminalizing the entire foreign population without really
achieving anything.
And what can I say, that the government's response is to recognize the problem, blame
immigration, make legal changes so that fewer foreigners come to the country and then continue
to shower those who are already there with more money does not seem very sensible, no
matter how many votes the subsidies may generate for the ruling party.
Because, Sweden's problem is not immigrants, much less the lack of social spending.
In fact, in Sweden, for example, social spending measured in terms of GDP is 52% higher than
in Australia.
The truth is that everything indicates that the problem is exactly the opposite.
But having reached this point, it's your turn:
With everything you have seen, do you think Sweden's real problem is immigration or is
it instead the result of bad public policies?
Leave us your comments below and, if you liked this video, don't forget to like it and subscribe
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As always, thank you very much for being there.
All the best and see you next time.